Jansons/BRSO Mahler 5th - my review

[John Kim]

Mariss Jansons' latest Mahler outing is the Fifth Symphony from Munich. Indeed, it shows many years of his experience interpreting and conducting this notoriously difficult piece. He has many ideas of his own about how the music should proceed; from the opening funeral march to the angst ridden, abysmal Second movt., to the hugely romantic Scherzo, the lovely Adagietto, and then the triumphant Finale, all of which work amazingly well. Two examples are

1. The unexpected slow down at 6'15" of I. is quite delicious.
2. In V. the broadened tempo at the entry of the brass choral ( 14'20") is not in the score but Jansons has done it every time he conducted the symphony. No doubt his skillful tempo shift adds to the triumph and exaltation in the whirlwind closing pages of the symphony.

Above all, Jansons Finale is a revelation. The way the Bavarian strings dig into the interwoven polyphonic lines creating most sumptuous yet clear sound is phenomenal. It is by far Jansons' broadest, and most colorful take on the work.

I should rank the recording among the finest Mahler Fifths I've ever heard. That list includes Tennstedt (live or studio), Levine, Inbal, Chung, and now Jansons.

Sound and playing are top notch.

P.S. I've listened to the disc about dozen times now but am not tired of the recording!

[barryguerrero]

I'll check this out on Spotify. I have that 'pirate' burn job of Jansons/Pittsburg and like it very much.

Later on:

Sorry John, but 14:20 is the wrong spot to slow down - it's marked to drive on until 14:45. Granted, it's only a matter of 20-some seconds, but I think it robs that passage of its energy. I also don't care for the added cymbal crash at 14:39 (to double the solo bass drum there), because it slightly detracts from the BIG cymbal crash at 14:45.

In spite of whatever flaws the Vanska recording may have (the entire Adagietto being one of them), he really drives the tempo onward to the same spot that corresponds to 14:45 on Jansons' new one. It makes the BIG cymbal crash (with bass drum) - the one that's written! - that much more effective if you don't slow down first. Also, it allows you to really bring out the tonic-dominant-tonic on the timpani before hand (I'm guessing that would be about 14:38 or so). I've heard other recordings that do the big slow-down at the same spot that Jansons' uses and I just don't care for it. It's not written that way either. Maybe that's just me. I also think that 19 minutes is a tad too long for the middle movement . I've changed my mind on that, as that one movement is very sprawling as it is. Granted, Jansons' 9 minute Adagietto trumps Vanska's 12-something affair.


Just as an f.y.i., I have a horn player friend who works in the record industry. He owns a billion cd's and I trust his opinions about as much as anybody's. He got the Vanska/Minnesota M5 and told me that he didn't like it at all (at first). I didn't say anything, other than to point out a few spots in the recording I really liked (including the entire finale). About two weeks later, he came up to me and said that he completely changed his mind on hearing it again. Interesting, no?   .    .   .    all I'll say is that I look forward to hearing Vanska/Minnesota/BIS in M6 (which is supposed to be next).

[John Kim]

Barry

> Sorry John, but 14:20 is the wrong spot to slow down - it's marked to drive on until 14:45.

Yes it is the wrong place because it is not instructed as such in the score as you (and also I) pointed out. But for me it works just great. Solti and Kobayashi did the same and they too are my favorite recordings.

John

[James Meckley]

14:20 is the wrong spot to slow down - it's marked to drive on until 14:45. Granted, it's only a matter to 20-some seconds, but I think it robs that passage of its energy.

I absolutely agree; the late James DePreist makes the same misjudgement on his Naxos recording with the London Symphony. The premature slow-down robs the true climax of much of its power and majesty. Mahler, as usual, was right.

[John Kim]

James and Barry,

With all due respect, what doesn't work for you works greatly for me! ;-)

By slowing down prematurely (?) it increases the grandiosity of the climax and the feeling of the true triumph and glory. That's what I get and it makes the ending that much more touching.

But really, it works either way. It's just that I prefer the way Jansons, Solti, Kobayashi and DePreist did.

John

[barryguerrero]

It's not sapped of its energy as badly as it is on the DePriest M5, and I understand your point. I feel that it works better if you drive on to the real hohepunkt. Frankly john, I'm almost bothered more by the addition of that gratuitous cymbal crash. I don't mind anyone changing what Mahler wrote if it improves upon what's already there.

I'll tell you about another spot that really bothers me. At start of the second movement, Jansons starts out at a tempo that's neither too slow or too fast. But he slows down greatly at the 35 second mark, for what is essentially the first subject of the movement (in minor). Again, the momentum is sapped of any energy. Listen to the same passage on the much maligned Vaenska recording. Vanska starts out a tad slower and very rigidly, but doesn't slow down in the slightest when we reach the same spot. If anything, it gains energy.